18: Chapter 18 Ambush? A Reckless Act of Deception

Su Chen walked up to the wooden crate with long strides. He didn't touch the blueprint but instead looked down at the black-robed merchant.

"Name your price for this blueprint."

Su Chen's voice was calm and resolute, carrying an air of overbearing authority that brooked no refusal.

The black-robed figure slowly raised their head. Although their face was obscured, Su Chen could feel a pair of sharp eyes scrutinizing him.

"Young man, you've got quite the nerve."

The black-robed figure's voice sounded like sandpaper rubbing together, raspy and dry.

"Although this blueprint of mine is incomplete, its value cannot be bought with ordinary canned meat and dirty water."

"You want it?"

The black-robed figure extended three withered, twig-like fingers and waved them in mid-air, their tone carrying a hint of greedy extortion.

"Three! I want three silver-grade or higher monster cores, or energy curios of equivalent purity!"

"One less, and no deal!"

Upon hearing this, the four women following behind Su Chen all gasped.

Chu Qingxue couldn't help but knit her delicate brows.

Three silver-grade cores?

This was practically robbery!

They had to know that their entire team had fought tooth and nail, killing a silver low-grade Withered Wood Treant above their level, just to get one [silver-grade wood core].

This black-robed figure dared to ask for three for a single incomplete blueprint; they were practically treating people like suckers!

"Train Master, this is too expensive, and it's incomplete. There's no need for us to take this loss."

Chu Qingxue leaned into Su Chen's ear, whispering her persuasion with a breath as fragrant as an orchid.

However, Su Chen only smiled slightly, his deep eyes filled with the confidence of someone in control of everything.

Expensive?

In front of an SSS-grade talent capable of performing Omni-Modification to create miracle carriages, this cost was nothing!

Su Chen didn't waste words.

He directly pulled the [silver-grade wood core] obtained from killing the Withered Wood Treant out of his system backpack.

As this core appeared, a surge of majestic vitality instantly permeated the dim corner, and even the moss growing on the wooden crate became emerald green.

The black-robed figure's body jerked violently, and the eyes hidden under the hood instantly shot out greedy glints.

"Top quality! A top-quality wood-attribute core!"

The black-robed figure was so excited that their voice trembled, and their withered palms reached out abruptly, wanting to grab the core.

"Slap!"

Su Chen gripped the core in his palm and looked at them coldly.

"That's one."

Then, as if performing a magic trick, Su Chen pulled two crystals flickering with violent cyan and purple light from his backpack.

These were two [high-grade wind-thunder cores] he had forcibly fused and compressed using his [Omni-Modification] talent from a large amount of bronze-grade [wind-attribute cores] and [thunder-attribute cores] he had collected earlier!

Although they weren't natural silver-grade, the purity of the violent energy contained within them was absolutely no less than silver low-grade!

"Are these two enough?"

Su Chen lined up the three cores on the wooden crate.

The dazzling light and violent energy fluctuations instantly illuminated the entire corner.

"Enough! That's enough!"

The black-robed figure was incoherent with excitement, fearing Su Chen might go back on his word, and shoved the incomplete parchment into Su Chen's hand.

Then, with shocking speed completely at odds with their withered build, they hugged the three cores tightly to their chest as if holding peerless treasures.

"Happy trading, young man!"

The black-robed figure didn't even care about their stall, clutched the cores, and disappeared into the intricate black market tunnels like a large black rat.

Su Chen held the incomplete blueprint, a satisfied arc curling at the corner of his mouth.

With this, the comprehensive combat power of train no. 0099 would once again see a terrifying leap!

"Let's go, back to the train."

Su Chen waved his hand and turned to leave with the four women.

However, what Su Chen didn't notice was...

Just when he took out the three high-grade cores earlier, that dazzling light had caught the attention of a few people not far away.

Behind an abandoned shipping container less than fifty meters from the corner.

Wang Meng's three lackeys were poking their heads out, staring fixedly at the backs of Su Chen's group as they left.

In their eyes, an uncontrollable fire of greed burned, and even their breathing became heavy.

"Holy shit! Did you guys see that just now?"

One lackey gulped down saliva, his voice shaking.

"Three! Those were three high-grade cores! And that blueprint, it's absolutely top-tier!"

"Damn it, this kid is practically a mobile treasure vault! No wonder he's ranked first!"

Another lackey said through gritted teeth.

"Quick! Hurry back and report to Brother Meng!"

A hint of vicious killing intent flashed in the eyes of the lead lackey.

"We can't touch him in this safe zone, but as soon as he leaves the station, we'll set an ambush in the place with the thickest fog!"

"As long as we take him out, his train, his cores, and those four top-tier chicks will all be ours!"

The three lackeys looked at each other, revealed lecherous and cruel smiles, and turned to run quickly toward Wang Meng's camp.

A deadly web targeting train no. 0099 was quietly spreading in this dark wasteland world.

...

Time in the wasteland always slips away rapidly amidst people's anxiety about survival.

The twelve-hour mandatory stay time was quickly counting down.

The platform of the Black Iron Trading Hub, originally bustling with noise, once again resounded with the roar of various dilapidated engines.

Trains of all shapes and sizes, carrying supplies exchanged in the black market, either full of hope or harboring malicious intentions, drove one after another into the rolling blood-colored fog.

Su Chen's heavy armored train no. 0099 started slowly amidst gazes of awe and envy.

The massive cowcatcher ruthlessly crushed the gravel on the tracks, like a steel beast that had eaten its fill, driving out of the safe zone with an unstoppable posture.

In the driver's cab, Su Chen carefully put the incomplete [medical research carriage blueprint] into his system space.

Although he didn't have enough materials for Omni-Modification yet, this was definitely an important trump card for his future domination of the wasteland.

"Train Master, we used those mutant vegetables to exchange for quite a few basic materials and high-grade timber in the black market. The logistics carriage is almost full."

Su Xiaoxiao pushed up her glasses and reported the results excitedly, looking like a little mouse that had fallen into a rice jar.

"Well done, I'll credit you with the first merit. I'll give you extra food tonight."

Su Chen praised her offhandedly, but his gaze didn't leave the monitoring screen.

From the moment he drove out of the safe zone, he felt a cold sensation of being watched by a venomous snake.

In this wasteland world without legal or moral constraints, wealth moves hearts.

His act of throwing away three high-grade cores in the black market definitely wouldn't escape the eyes of those with ulterior motives.

"Screech—!"

Just as the train had driven less than ten kilometers out of the safe zone, where the fog became thickest.

A harsh emergency braking sound suddenly rang out in the driver's cab.

The massive inertia caused the girls in the carriage to involuntarily tip forward, letting out bursts of exclamations.

"What's going on?"

Chu Qingxue steadied herself and immediately stood up from the co-pilot seat, a hint of vigilance flashing in her cold eyes.

Su Chen didn't speak, just stared fixedly ahead.

Through the thick bulletproof glass, one could see clearly.

On the tracks ahead, several massive abandoned heavy trucks were lying across, completely blocking the train's path forward.

This was definitely not a naturally occurring obstacle, but a roadblock intentionally set by someone!

"Woo—!"

At the same time, an extremely arrogant long whistle came from the fog on the right fork.

A green-skinned train, covered in welding marks and barely fitted with some steel plates, darted out from the fog like a mad dog and stopped steadily at the side of train no. 0099.

The carriage door was kicked open rudely.

Dozens of burly men wearing tattered tank tops and holding polished steel pipes, machetes, and rusty axes rushed down, howling like a pack of wolves that had been hungry for ten days.

They dispersed in a well-trained manner and surrounded Su Chen's train within a few seconds.

And standing on the front of that green-skinned train was none other than the Sanda captain from the sports school who had been scared off by a single sentence from Su Chen in the safe zone—Wang Meng!

"Hahaha! Su Chen! You pretty boy, you have today too!"

Wang Meng looked down from above at the black armored train that had been forced to a stop, laughing hysterically, his face full of flesh twisted with pathological madness and the pleasure of revenge.

He was going to take back the humiliation he suffered in the safe zone a thousand times over at this moment!

"Did you really think your little bluffing tricks could scare me?"

"Let me tell you, in this wilderness, whoever has the harder fist, that's the truth!"

Wang Meng waved his thick arm, and the sports school students under his command immediately hit their weapons excitedly, making a deafening metallic clashing sound.

"Hand over that high-grade blueprint! Bring those few top-tier chicks off the train and give them to me obediently!"

Wang Meng's gaze greedily swept over every inch of train no. 0099's armor, his voice becoming raspy from excitement.

"If you serve me well enough to make me happy, I'll show mercy and leave you a whole corpse!"

Facing this sudden interception, the atmosphere inside train no. 0099 didn't descend into panic as Wang Meng had imagined.

In the passenger carriage.

After the initial bump, the girls immediately entered a combat state under the command of Chu Qingxue and Zhang Man.

Zhang Man held the heavy giant fire axe with both hands, the leg muscles full of explosive power from years of training tightened, like a leopard ready to pounce.

"Sisters, prepare for battle!"

"Whoever dares to touch our Train Master, whoever dares to rob our train, we'll fight them to the death!"

Amidst Zhang Man's roar, the girls in the logistics team also picked up their homemade weapons; even the most timid girls had a fierce look in their eyes at this moment.

In this doomsday, they had finally managed to live a "noble" life where they could eat and dress warmly, and even take hot showers.

Anyone who wanted to destroy all of this was their irreconcilable enemy!

In the driver's cab, Su Chen looked at the sports school students jumping around outside, a cold, extremely cruel smirk curling on his lips.

He didn't even touch the terrifyingly powerful [thunder-fire roarer shotgun].

To deal with this kind of trash, using that gun would simply be an insult to the gun.

Su Chen pulled the [explosive combustion iron staff], which was dark red all over and exuded faint heat, from the weapon rack behind him.

He twisted his neck in a leisurely manner, making a bone-popping sound that set teeth on edge.

"Qingxue, watch the house. Whoever dares to come within half a step of the carriage, use ice spikes to pierce their throats directly."

"Understood." Chu Qingxue's voice was bone-chillingly cold, and frost was already beginning to condense on her fingertips.

Su Chen didn't waste any more words, holding the iron staff in one hand, and pressed the door switch.

"Screech—!"

The heavy armored car door opened slowly.

Su Chen was like a demon god walking out of the abyss of hell, alone, stepping onto the gravel-filled wilderness.

His tall and upright figure seemed a bit thin surrounded by dozens of burly men holding lethal weapons, but that aura of ruling the world instantly suppressed the entire scene.

"Just relying on you bunch of idiots whose muscles have grown into your brains?"

Su Chen glanced at Wang Meng with contempt, his iron staff dragging across the ground casually, kicking up a stream of small sparks.

"You're worthy of coming to rob my stuff?"

Hearing Su Chen's undisguised mockery, Wang Meng's face, which was already twisted from jealousy, became hideous instantly.

"You dare to talk tough when you're about to die! Today, I'm going to crush every bone in your body inch by inch!"

Wang Meng roared wildly and jumped down from the front of the train.

"Boom!"

His massive body slammed into the ground, actually smashing two shallow pits into the hard wilderness ground.

Immediately after, a violent, visible red blood energy erupted from Wang Meng's body!

A-grade talent—[Berserk Muscle]! Fully unleashed!

Accompanied by hair-raising bone-stretching and muscle-tearing sounds.

Wang Meng, who was already nearly 1.9 meters tall, actually surged in height again within a few short seconds!

He expanded into a humanoid monster over two meters tall, with muscles all over his body like cast iron!

Those thick arms were even a circle thicker than an ordinary person's thighs!

Veins pulsed violently under his skin like green earthworms, full of a violent aesthetic with high visual impact.

"Die!!!"

The berserk Wang Meng let out a roar that didn't sound human.

He didn't use any weapons, because his pair of huge iron fists were the best killing weapons.

He kicked the ground hard with both legs, and his whole body was like a runaway heavy tank, rushing toward Su Chen with terrifying wind pressure and unreasonable force!

The speed and power of this strike could absolutely smash even a bronze low-grade monster into pulp with one punch!

The surrounding sports school students let out excited howls; in their eyes, this pretty boy named Su Chen would definitely have his head smashed open by their boss's punch.

However, facing this blow that felt like Mount Tai pressing down.

Su Chen didn't dodge or evade; in those deep eyes, a hint of excited glint even flashed.

"It's been a long time since I encountered a punching bag that could let me warm up."

Su Chen whispered, and the mental energy in his body boiled instantly.

"Crackle!"

Accompanied by a harsh sound of electric current.

Violent purple lightning erupted from Su Chen's legs without warning, instantly spreading to his whole body.

Bronze high-grade skill—[Thunderclap Step]!